Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


Tayuya growled in discomfort as she fidgeted uneasily upon the cold slab of stone she was forced to lay on. How stone even got a chance to get cold in the middle of a desert was beyond her, but if she had to hazard a guess, she would say that it was made cold intentionally to annoy her. Not that she could be bothered to complain about it. Suna was a miserable place to begin with, what with it being hotter than most guys' wet dreams, so a cold slab of stone could almost be seen as a comfort. But after having to endure laying on it for the third day straight, Tayuya simply couldn't help but let it get on her nerves.

The 'torture', as she called it, started almost as soon as she and Naruto made it back to the village. After a rather rushed conversation with Temari, who all but refused to speak of or acknowledge the events that had taken place in Konoha, Tayuya was handed over to the care of an old hag for the purpose of preparation. What followed was a surgery to make her arm, as the old bitch had put it, compatible with a prosthetic. It made sense, of course, but getting a metal rod drilled into the bone of what was left of her arm was an agonising experience to say the least. The second day involved getting measured, weighed, and forced to do hours of tedious actions and routines with her right arm under careful observation.

Today seemed to only be about questions. Stupid, irrelevant question at that, in Tayuya's opinion anyway. Questions such as what she planned to do with the arm, how she lost her actual arm, and whether or not she wanted upgrades or spares. Somewhere between all of which the old hag managed to make several remarks concerning her and Naruto's relationship. It was obviously a ploy to get a rise out of her, so Tayuya played it as cool as she could for the most part. After all, it wasn't that hard to ignore everything around her after being with Naruto for so long. Compared to him, the rest of the world was easy to block out.

Or rather, it was… until the old hag decided to unexpectedly tighten the straps around the stump of her left arm, eliciting a pained growl from the girl.

"What the fuck!" Tayuya yelled angrily. She quickly rolled off of the stone slab in the opposite direction of the old bitch, only to be pulled rather pathetically to the floor by an unexpected weight. She looked down at her arm curiously, surprised to find that she actually had an arm there, in a manner of speaking. "Um, okay, now what the fuck?" she muttered questioningly, glaring demandingly at the old woman who looked as though she didn't care about Tayuya's existence.

"That is a temporary prosthetic for you to make use of while the finer details of your actual prosthetic are sorted out," Chiyo explained. "It is adjustable in numerous ways, so if it doesn't suit a specific purpose, you need only return and have it refitted. It is also necessary for your training to commence."

Tayuya blinked owlishly at the woman. "My training?"

Chiyo sweatdropped at the girl's question. "Didn't anyone explain to you how puppet prosthetics work?"

"Probably, but I most likely wasn't listening," she said offhandedly. "Now would you mind telling me why this thing is so damn heavy? I thought puppets were lightweight."

"Puppets are crafted to many varying specifications, that includes varying weights for numerous purposes," Chiyo explained. "As for your arm, it contains weights to further aid in muscle rehabilitation, as most prosthetics of that kind do. After going so long without anything attached, nor a purpose, the muscles in your upper arm have likely weakened, if only slightly. You will need to maintain a heavier weight in your prosthetic for a little while during the early stages to help muscle growth before you can get it readjusted for the sake of balance."

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Fantastic," she drawled, getting back to her feet. "So how does this thing work? How does it even move?"

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about the art of puppetry would you?" Chiyo asked.

"No."

The old woman sighed deeply. "This is going to be a very long couple of weeks," she grumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Chiyo gave a small smirk that sent a chill down the girl's spine. "Follow me. We need to take a trip to the library."

Tayuya froze at the last word. "Oh fuck."


Temari stared expectantly at the jinchuuriki sitting across from her, receiving nothing in return in regards to a response. It had been some time since Naruto and Tayuya had returned, and news of what had transpired in Konoha had spread like wildfire. Suna was rather removed from the other shinobi villages, so it was easy to assume that the rest of the world not only new of what happened, but had also made up their minds on how to respond to Naruto's existence. Temari could only assume that what was to follow would be the world's greatest ninja hunt. The only real question was how Naruto intended on responding to that particular hunt.

"How much time do we have?" Naruto asked calmly.

"Until you're forced out of the village, or until the world starts hunting you two down like animals?" the blonde asked bluntly, earning a shrug from him. "Well, I'd say you have at least a few days. I can buy you that much time. But you don't have too much time either way."

Naruto nodded in understanding as he hummed thoughtfully. "That sounds about right. But I'm more concerned about Tayuya's training," he said. "From what I understand of puppetry, it's doubtful she will be able to learn how to use her arm properly in time, even with someone of Chiyo's renown teaching her. Her stubbornness also won't be helping the situation."

"Yes, your friend sure does have an attitude problem," Temari remarked. "I personally don't see what your interest in her is."

"She has her good qualities… locked away somewhere… I think," Naruto said unsurely.

Temari sighed. "Look, I don't really care what you two are planning on doing once you leave here, but before you get to go anywhere, you are going to conclude your business with the Ichibi. After all that has happened, it would be beneficial for such a dangerous loose end to be tied up."

"Agreed," he said. "But you aren't going to like my thoughts on the subject."

"I'll hear them out regardless."

Naruto smirked. "You."

The girl froze. "Me?"

"Yes, you," Naruto repeated. "I had given a few other options a good amount of thought, even considered using Tayuya for it for a moment, but in the end, the best person for the job would be you."

"But I'm not compatible. If I were, my father would have used me in the first place," she argued.

"You weren't strong enough as an unborn child to bear the stress of the sealing, and the pathetic Fūinjutsu your father had at his disposal was less than adequate for the task at hand, but thankfully we don't have any of those problems anymore," Naruto explained. "While it will be a very unpleasant experience, your chakra network is still young enough to remould itself accordingly with the Bijuu's chakra, and I am skilled enough to ensure that nothing goes wrong with the process. Of course, this would require me to remain in the village for some time so as to ensure that everything goes smoothly. I don't need another Kage's blood on my hands lest I want the whole world demanding my head."

Temari frowned. "And just why am I the best person? Are you forgetting what that thing has done to this village? To my family? How could you expect me to go along with such a stupid request?"

Naruto gave a sad smile. "Do it for us," he said simply. "Show the villagers that they were wrong all along and help to create a better future for those that bear the burden after you. Do it so that the rest of us can hold onto the hope that someday we won't be seen as just weapons or monsters. More importantly, do it to mend the image of your brother."

Her frown didn't go away, but it was obvious that the displeasure behind it had diluted significantly, replaced by a begrudging acceptance of what had just been said. "I'm still not happy… just to be clear. However, you do have a point," she said with a heavy sigh, massaging her temples softly as she continued to go over things in her head. "I'll need time to plan it all, and… to say my final farewell," she added quietly.

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Take all the time you need," he said, standing and giving a slight bow. "Saying goodbye to someone you care about is always a difficult process… especially when you know they are all but gone despite being so close."

Temari looked at him with a defeated expression, knowing full well the trust she was putting in him to let her façade fall in his presence. "You have no idea," she muttered pitifully.

Naruto held his tongue. It was not his place to impede on the girl's grieving any more than he already had by starting a competition of who had gone through the most tragedy. As it were, she was more than a little deserving of at least a short time of weakness considering all that had happened. It was amazing that Temari had even managed to cope with it all without breaking down sooner. He just hoped that there was enough time between chaotic incidents for everyone to have a well-deserved break.

It wasn't until he got outside that he felt the exhaustion from the past few days sinking in. With a quick spin on his heels, he turned to the opposite direction of the hotel he and Tayuya had been put in for the time being and began walking away. If he had any hope of a decent rest, it was going to be in a place where it would take some time for Tayuya to find him. He froze however, as a cold chill went down his spine, immediately causing him to change his direction again as he headed towards the village gates.

Outside of the village walls was clearly the safer option for today.


Tayuya groaned pitifully as she trekked her way back towards the hotel room. The sun had long since gone down, which she supposed was a blessing since she didn't have to put up with the heat and blinding light, but that didn't take away from the pain or the exhaustion she was feeling. Today especially had taken its toll on her patience since she had spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to hunt down Naruto the night before. It was just a shame that she was too tired to give him the ass kicking he deserved.

Despite that, the redhead could gladly say that she would drop her desire to kill the jinchuuriki in order to kill the old hag Chiyo. She could forgive Naruto for cutting her arm off, but she would be damned if she forgave Chiyo for literally using her as a puppet for her own amusement earlier. Sadly, remembering that only brought back the memory of her own failure at the ridiculous art of puppetry, along with the aching pain accompanying the heaviness of the prosthetic that hung limply at her side.

While she was capable of creating chakra strings, much to Chiyo's amazement, she wasn't quite skilled enough to control them, let alone control an arm with them. Add to that the fact that she could only create three of them at one time and you had the perfect recipe for puppetry skills that barely rivalled that of a fresh academy graduate… at least that's how Chiyo described it. Needless to say, there was a lot of unnecessary teasing at her expense, and an annoying amount of comparisons to someone named Sasori, who was apparently better than she could ever hope to be by the age of twelve.

She pushed the thoughts to back of her mind, dreading the following day when even more would be added to the growing stockpile of anger inducing memories. Finally making it back to the hotel room, she let herself in, not at all surprised at the unlocked state of the door. Everyone in the village was well aware of who was staying in the room, and no one dared to try anything against Naruto after the show he put on with pummelling the Ichibi. Still, it did make for a lot of unwanted guests showing up wanting to ask questions or simply to thank him for "killing the demon". Thankfully, for Naruto, Tayuya wasn't quite mean enough, or stupid enough, to congratulate him on practically killing one of the few people that he could ever truly relate with.

Kicking off her shoes tiredly, she stumbled her way to the kitchen only to pause awkwardly as she saw Temari sitting at the dining table with a less than impressed expression on her face. Judging by the empty cup in front of her, which she safely assumed had once contained coffee, Tayuya hazarded the guess that the young Kage had been waiting a while. Now it was just a matter of why she was here, and why Naruto hadn't already dealt with the guest.

"Has he run off again?" she drawled.

Temari shook her head. "Unfortunately no," she answered. "That would be easier to explain. But he is actually in the bedroom meditating."

Tayuya gave her a stupid look. "He meditates?" she mouthed in shock.

"Apparently."

"And you've been waiting here the whole time for him to finish?"

"No," Temari said. "I was actually waiting here for you."

The redhead narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Whatever that stupid bag of bones told you, it wasn't me."

The blonde chuckled. "You haven't been accused of anything, don't worry," she said. "However, Chiyo's opinion of you is very obviously not as nice as anyone would like. She had more than enough to complain about before you came along and made her life difficult. Which I suppose is the main reason why I'm here."

"She's ditching me, right?" she asked. "I'm too much for her to deal with or something like that?"

"As surprising as it might be, even for those of us that have known her for longer than you, she is more determined to train you… to an extent anyway," Temari said amusedly. "She has stated quite clearly that you will never possess the necessary chakra control to properly utilise your prosthetic though."

"Hey, I'm doing pretty well so far," Tayuya argued.

Temari shrugged. "I believe you, but another option has been presented to us," she said, placing a moderate sized sealing scroll on the table. "Chiyo's grandson, Sasori, is without a doubt the most proficient puppet user to ever come from Suna. After some of his methods were discovered to be less than acceptable, he went rogue, and what techniques he left behind were sealed away, classified, and given to Chiyo for safekeeping. This here is one of those techniques."

Tayuya got even more suspicious. "And why exactly are you telling me this?"

"Because Chiyo has asked me if I would allow you access to it, for the purpose of shortcutting your training," Temari answered. "For whatever reason, this technique is almost solely related to prosthetics, making it more than helpful for your situation."

"Okay, but what's the catch?"

"You would need to swear never to reveal this technique to anyone else other than Naruto, who has already been let in on this information. Doing so would be punishable by death and the destruction of your corpse so as to maintain the secrecy of this technique."

Tayuya pursed her lips unsurely. "I'm not going to like how this technique works, am I?

"It will require another operation to allow for the needed modifications and implantation of a new device, which I can assure you will be far more painful than the previous one," the blonde stated honestly. "After that, it is merely a matter of teaching you how to use the device."

The redhead grunted irritably and sat down across from the blonde. She sluggishly unstrapped the prosthetic from her upper arm and disconnected it from the pole secured to the bone before placing is on the table. "Alright then. I'm game. But I will complain to the upmost extent of my abilities afterwards. I've put up with a lot of pain already, so I think I'm entitled to a bit of whinging."

Temari smiled. "I don't care what you do. Chiyo will be assisting in the operation and she is the only one who has to put up with you afterwards. As far as I see it, she can deal with that mess all on her own."

"And here I thought you and I would never get along in any way," Tayuya said offhandedly, taking a deep breath and leaning back into her chair. "So how long has he been in there?"

"A while," the blonde admitted, glancing towards the door awkwardly before turning back to Tayuya questioningly. "During the time you've been with him, have you noticed anything to do with his… condition… that could be considered…"

"…Unnatural?" Tayuya interrupted.

"…Dangerous," Temari finished.

Tayuya frowned. "Nice save there, blondie," she muttered. "But before I answer anything, I want to know why you're probing? Trying to get some dirt on him, or are you interested?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Temari droned.

"Okay, interested it is then," the redhead concluded cheerfully. "Oh this is going to be great. I can't wait to see how he reacts."

Temari quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Shouldn't you be, I don't know, jealous? Protective? Threatened in some way even?" she asked.

Tayuya paled. "What?"

"Are you and Naruto not involved in some way?" Temari asked. "It would explain a lot of things. Namely, how someone, who for the most part was thought to be completely unimportant to anyone aside from Orochimaru, suddenly becomes the sole interest of someone who has since gone on to perform some of the most outrages acts of the past month in the name of your safety. I would be surprised if something wasn't going on between you."

The redheads eyes widened as her skin began to border the line between ghostly white and completely transparent. "This could be soooo bad."

"So you two are a thing?" the blonde asked unsurely, trying to make sense of the girl's reaction.

"Absolutely fucking not!" Tayuya said in horror. "That was never a part of our arrangement!"

Temari groaned. "I'm confused."

"He owns me," Tayuya blurted out frustratedly. "That is it! He bought me, and now I belong to him. That is as far as it goes. And with all the stupid crap he's been doing recently, I want it to stay that way. I mean, I've already been kidnapped, and that was without people thinking we were together. Now… well, now I'm completely fucked. Everyone after his stupid fat head will be after mine too if they get the idea in their head that I'm involved with him in that kind of way."

"I already regret saying anything."

Tayuya drummed her fingers against the table. "What should I do about this?"

The blonde stood up hastily. "That is for you to figure out," she said, making her way to the door quickly. "Alone."

Tayuya watched the door close before pinching her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe I could just kill him."

"After what I just heard, I would appreciate it if you tried," Naruto said suddenly from the chair Temari had been sitting in. "Pummelling you into the ground might help me forget it, depending on how many seconds it takes."

"You heard the whole thing didn't you?" she drawled.

Naruto ignored her question. "Any progression today?"

The girl snarled. "You know damn well that I didn't accomplish jack shit."

"What a shame," he sighed. "And here I thought your language was improving."

"My language will improve when you stop being a dick."

"In that case, I suppose I had better get used to it," he said in amusement. "Not exactly a difficult thing for someone in my line of work."

Tayuya glowered at him. "What exactly is the plan here?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Naruto look at her questioningly. "Plan for what?"

"I'm not stupid, you know. Suna is only a temporary stop for you, and by extension, me. And so, I think it stands to reason that I be let in on where we're going next and what you intend to do there," she said.

"I thought it was very obvious by now that plans aren't my forte," he said. "But, if it would stop you from complaining so much when things go south, then I am more than happy to make plans."

"Good. Then you can start right now by planning where we are going after this."

"Making a plan for where you're going isn't always the best thing you know. It's much more practical to plan for what you are after. That way, no matter where you might go or end up, you still have a chance of succeeding in your goal," Naruto explained casually. "After all, there are often more than one of whatever most people are looking for."

The girl narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Fine then, smartass. What are we looking for?"

Naruto tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the table. "I never put much thought into it. My life until recently hasn't warranted me truly needing anything. I usually just grab what I want as the situation requires."

"Half dead teenage girls from the middle of the forest…" Tayuya muttered. "For example."

"A happy coincidence, I can assure you," he insisted. "But back to our original point. I agree that it would be wise to at least have an idea as to where we will be heading and what we will be doing after our business here ends, but it need a logical reason. I won't allow for a vacation trip to a spa hotel just because you feel like one."

"Well I don't necessarily feel like following your deranged ass around on some fucked up personal quest to see how many people in the world you can piss off," she countered.

Naruto pouted childishly. "It's not like I'm trying to piss everyone off. And don't think you're completely innocent in all of this. Half of the stupid things I've been forced to do in the past month have been to keep you alive."

Tayuya waved her dismissively. "Technicalities."

"Anyway… you've now made your point. And I get the feeling that you have somewhere in mind already, so please just let me know where it is you want to go and why," Naruto said. "It seems fair for you to have some say in what we do considering all I've dragged you through so far."

"You say that as if you're fully expecting to drag me through more shit."

Naruto gave her a blank stare.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Fine, don't try to be reassuring. And if you are telling the truth about my say meaning anything, then I vote Kirigakure," she said.

Naruto went emotionless. "And what could possibly make you think that village is a good idea? And trust me; you will need to give me a damn convincing reason to go along with this idea."

"Orochimaru isn't there," she said simply. "He has a base or two in the region, but he never actively does anything near Kiri. I don't know why, but right now, I don't care. All I care about is never having to deal with him. In a perfect world, that would mean never again, but I'll settle for just a while."

"That could be… complicated," Naruto mumbled. "The land of iron is just as safe a place if being out of Orochimaru's reach is all you are after."

"Yeah, but it's cold and miserable up there," she argued. "It's miserable in Kiri too, but at least I don't have to deal with snow and stupid nosey samurai. What with the civil war still going on, I imagine that it would be easier to stay hidden for a longer period of time."

Naruto sighed deeply. "Have you even stopped to think about why Orochimaru doesn't do anything in Kiri?" he asked.

"Not really," she admitted. "But I always assumed it was because there was nothing down there that he was interested in."

He shook his head. "Orochimaru can find something of interest anywhere. It's one of his gifts. And as such, it makes sense that it would take something rather phenomenal to keep him from such a large area of potential. Kiri was, and to an extent still is the home of some of the most powerful Kekkei Genkai the shinobi world has ever seen. What do you think could do that?"

"Does it matter? So long as it isn't Orochimaru."

Naruto hummed. "Well, it certainly isn't Orochimaru we would need to be worried about there. Even with the civil war in play, we'd still need to be careful. It's unlikely that either side would be welcoming to anyone stupid enough to walk into a death trap like that."

Tayuya pouted slightly. "So that's a no then?"

"Not necessarily," Naruto replied calmly. "Just… leave it with me for a little bit. You still have a few days left before you can even start using your arm for the bare basics, which should give me enough time to weigh the options we have against each other. And it'll give the both of us some time for relaxation before heading off into what I can only imagine is a now completely hostile world."

"You have no one to blame but yourself for that," she said. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go and make use of one of the only luxuries in this village that wasn't destroyed by your grudge match with the Ichibi. Although it's kind of strange that the bath houses were so untouched if you ask me."

"Not really. I mean, when you think about it, the Ichibi was doing the most destroying, and sand doesn't mix well with water. It makes sense that it would avoid any and all water."

Tayuya sighed in exasperation. "Not everything needs an explanation, smart ass," she said, walking out and closing the door behind her.

Naruto let out a quiet chuckle. Making his way from the kitchen to the lounge room styled area, he collapsed onto the deceivingly comfortable and spacious lounge. Tayuya had claimed the rights to the bedroom of the hotel room on the first night after a coin toss, which he had won of course, but when the decision came down to the comfort of an actual bed or the comfort of not getting kicked in the unmentionables, it was a no brainer.

Letting out a deep breath, he gently clutched his side while holding back a slight wince. While he was mostly healed from the past weeks ordeals, it was still a work in progress. Ribs that had been shattered were still in need of last minute touch ups, and a good number of internal organs were yet to be back to full working order. Even with the Kyuubi's chakra working almost aggressively to keep him alive, there were still limits. Regenerating something that the human body wasn't normally capable of healing took time and concentration, and also a lot of chakra to compensate for the lack of actual bodily materials.

Still, it was his fault for it taking as long as it was. He had neglected his meditation as of late, and had gotten less than an adequate amount of sleep over the past several weeks. It was only a matter of time before that kind of stupidity caught up with him, and it was only by sheer luck that he was given an opportunity to correct his mistakes before they became a true hindrance. A few good nights of rest, alongside some uninterrupted meditation sessions, and he was confident that he would be back at full strength by the weeks end.

After he was done sorting himself out, he would then be able to focus his attention onto other more important points of interest. The first of those would be aiding Tayuya in her recovery, for both of their sakes. After that… well, he wasn't completely sure. It was only a matter of time before he had to confront Jiraiya, along with the rest of Konoha, who by this point were likely to turn into nothing more than bloodthirsty animals at the mere mention of his name. It went without needing be said that the land of fire was a strictly out of bounds area for him, at least for as long as he could avoid it that was.

It was frustrating, but Naruto knew that Tayuya was right about Kiri. It was probably the safest place to go for the meantime save for the land of Iron, but it was unlikely that the samurai would willingly harbour a wanted criminal like him. The rest of the world would know of his location within days of crossing the border, making getting out of the country that much harder as time dragged on. Kiri offered a different risk in the form of two desperate factions of a civil war who were definitely willing to capture and make use of a jinchuuriki should the opportunity arise. Of course, that was still a favoured outcome when compared to being outed to the world. The shinobi of the mist did work on a sense of honour after all, and not one of them would ever pass up the bounty on his head to another village, so his location would be kept rather silent.

But Kiri was also a dangerous place for Naruto to be for the same reason Orochimaru kept his activities there so quiet. The Akatsuki had a hand in the mess going on down there, and from what he understood, whatever they were after, it was important to them in some way. There was always the chance that their attention was too devoted to the task at hand, but it was also probably that he would be found out by them. His last interaction with them may have been beneficial, but it was far too much to expect anything of the sorts to occur again. The next run in with them would end badly, he knew that much.

He scratched at his stomach idly as his thoughts drifted to something a bit closer to home, or more specifically, closer to his ancestors home. Uzushiogakure was, for a lack of better description, a wasteland. After its destruction, it had been pillaged to the highest extent possible before being buried in history and forgotten by most of the world. No one ever went there, and no one would think anyone was stupid enough to use it as a hideout, or anything resembling the sort. The entire village was rumoured to be a death trap, with some reports even suggesting that the Uzumaki had set up actual traps in their final moments.

Uzushio was also positioned between Konoha and Kiri. Naruto hoped it was enough to keep Tayuya's paranoia at bay, lest he be forced to actually follow through with her plan of going to Kiri itself. The last thing he wanted was to wind up fighting in a war. If the tales of the current Mizukage were anything to go by, then it would only end badly. It was only a shame that Yagura wasn't a less bloodthirsty individual. Naruto would have liked to converse with one of the few ever known to gain full control over their respective tailed beast.

With a final deep breath, Naruto closed his eyes and waited patiently for sleep to consume him. It was pointless wasting his thoughts on issues that could be postponed until tomorrow… or whenever he finally decided to get back to them. Procrastination was, as it were, one skill that the jinchuuriki reserved for only the most important of trivial matters.

Sadly, he would later learn that Tayuya was not as patient as he could be.


Temari had gone through a lot in her reasonably short life, and to her credit, such hardships had helped to mould her into the mature and levelheaded kunoichi she was now. However, she was still young and still susceptible to "unprofessional moments" as Baki had worded it. Her current situation was one such moment where the blonde was actually happy to let her 'immaturity' take over, as viewing the scene before her in a professional manner would only deprive her of the amusement and entertainment that she was now enjoying.

Having dealt with her required negotiations involving Tayuya the night before, and with Naruto having been busy during said time, Temari had opted to return to further discuss the following days with the jinchuuriki. She wasn't very shocked to find the door to the hotel room wide open, nor to find it absent of the redhead, but she was intrigued to find the bedroom empty. As far as she had known, Naruto was yet to leave the building since yesterday. Luckily, it wasn't very long before she ventured to the lounge room, to find a still sleeping Naruto laying on the lounge in naught but his boxers.

While not entirely proud of her actions, Temari did take some time to admire the man before her, subconsciously burning the image into her memory. However, she wasn't without some level of self-control, as she made sure to make a basic medical observation alongside her personal admiration for his physique. While definitely not a medic, Temari had looked into the art at one point in her academy years. As such, she did do some minor study to get a taste of the art, so basic diagnoses were something well within her capabilities.

Knowing full well that she was lying to herself for the sake of ogling the half-naked teen in front of her was also a skill she had, not that it was going to stop her.

Her enjoyment was regrettably cut short as she quickly found herself noticing things that actually began to concern her. Minor, if not almost non-existant lines on his skin that wouldn't have been visible at all had he not been so still. Temari easily surmised that they were the remnants of the scars he had obtained over the years, healed to an extreme degree that only a jinchuuriki could accomplish without the immediate aid of a medic. The scars weren't really the point of concern though, but more the positioning of them, and the fact that they were there at all.

It was relatively common knowledge for anyone who looked into the jinchuuriki of past generations that anyone who contained a Bijuu was capable of healing at a much higher rate than normal humans. As such, it was rare for them to scar from any wound that wasn't especially significant or otherwise aided with a toxin or technique that counteracted their Bijuu's chakra. The fact that Naruto had so many scars, no matter how faded they may have been, was something worth noting. It also didn't help that each one appeared to have been from either a piercing or slicing weapon aimed at specifically at his vital organs. If the scars were truly a reflection of the severity of the wounds he sustained in such vulnerable areas, then it was very obvious that Naruto was a lot harder to kill than Temari had first assumed.

"You enjoying yourself?"

The blonde was startled by the sudden question, but her training ensured that her body didn't betray that to the asker. That aside, Temari was regretfully forced to turn her attention to the now very much awake Naruto, amusement blatantly glimmering in his eyes as he seemingly waited patiently for her to answer his question.

"As a matter of fact, I am," she said, offering him a smug smirk as he frowned in disappointment. "Thanks for the view," she added with a playful wink.

Naruto quickly mirrored her smirk as he gave her an obvious up and down glance. "Any chance of you returning the gesture?" he asked.

"Nope."

He sighed. "Oh well, it was worth a try," he mumbled, stumbling to his feet and making a point to take his time stretching in front of the blonde. "So then, I suppose you want to have that talk with me that you missed out on last night?"

Temari ignored his actions and nodded. "That was my plan," she admitted. "But if you have something more important to do, then we can always postpone it again."

"Well, I wasn't planning to do much more than sleep today, so we might as well get it over with," Naruto said before glancing down at his state of undress and then back up to Temari curiously. "Would you prefer I stay like this, or should I get some clothes on?" he asked teasingly.

"Dressed, immediately," she said sternly.

"You sure?"

"I will stab you again."

Naruto winced at that particular memory. It may have only been a shadow clone, but the young Kazekage had somehow managed to make the one stab stick in his memory for what he could see being a very long time. It was actually kind of impressive that she could inflict so much pain in the instant a clone had to comprehend it before dispelling. Impressive, but also terrifying. God forbid she ever felt like doing to the real him. Choosing not to risk any further teasing, Naruto walked past the girl quickly towards the small pile of clothes that had mysteriously gathered themselves together while he was asleep. He made a mental note to be cautious of any potential meddling courtesy of Tayuya.

Temari smiled as she watched him hastily but warily put on his pants, as if he expected them to spontaneously combust at any moment. "Would you mind explaining why you're sleeping on the lounge?" she asked. "The room does come with a bed for a reason."

Naruto shrugged. "Tayuya claimed the bedroom as hers almost as soon as we got here and I didn't really feel like putting up much of a fight for it. I've put her through enough already and she deserves a bit of comfort for the moment," he explained.

"Hmm, and here I thought you were the one that owned her, not the other way around," the blonde said slyly.

"I don't care for owning a person, especially not one that I 'purchased'," he said. "Tayuya can do whatever she wants without having to worry about my thoughts on it. I simply wish to make sure that she can watch out for herself before I let her run off on her own. Now that everyone knows what I did for her sake, there are going to be a lot of people out for whatever information she might have on me."

"Still doesn't mean you two can't just share a bed. I mean this is just childish."

Naruto glared at her. "Don't say that so loud! She might hear you, and then I'll be a dead man."

Temari scoffed. "The guy that just went toe to toe with an unleashed Bijuu is scared of a little girl… that is really sad."

Naruto waved her off. "Call it what you like, but I'm allowed to possess a respectful amount of fear for any female that crosses my path."

"That aside, I came here to make the final preparations for the transference of the Ichibi," she said quickly.

The jinchuuriki finished getting dressed and turned to her with a calm yet serious expression. "So you've decided? That didn't take very long. Are you sure about your answer?"

"Suna needs the Ichibi. No matter how much we wish to be rid of it, it is a prominent part of our village's history and the only real powerhouse we have left. But you were right about striving to change people views on jinchuuriki, for the betterment of future generation," she said.

"Good to hear," Naruto said, not at all oblivious to the difficulty Temari was having with the subject, no matter how well she was hiding it. She was, after all, arranging for her own brother to be killed in a manner of speaking. "So I take it that you have prepared an area for me to work?"

The blonde nodded. "We could easily clear out the Kazekage tower for our own use. Outfit one of the lower rooms for the procedure," she suggested. "However, it will have to be after tomorrow. While it was kept to a minimum, there were still casualties during the Ichibi's rampage. The village is going to hold a collective funeral tomorrow. I will be expected to be there."

Naruto hummed thoughtfully. "Where would this funeral be taking place?" he asked.

"Outside the village walls. The people of Suna have never buried anyone within the walls out of superstition. Something about the village eventually having more dead in it than living," she explained offhandedly.

"If you could arrange for your brother to be taken to one of the lower rooms early tomorrow morning, while also giving me the location, I could go about the first stage of the procedure in peace with no risk of anyone finding out about what is being done," he explained. "After that, it would be wise for us to find a secluded body of water for the second stage. Either that, or have one of the bath houses sectioned off from the public for a short while."

Temari narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't sound very Bijuu related," she said warningly.

Naruto nodded in understanding. "You're right, it doesn't sound related. But if you'd be so kind as to humour my suspicions, I'm doing my best to have this planned and pulled off with the absolute minimal of damage to both yourself and your village."

"Fine. I'll see that everything is in order before my departure tomorrow morning. One of my ANBU will deliver the appropriate information to you later," she said, offering the slightest of bows before turning and walking hastily to the door.

"Wait."

The blonde froze in place at his tone. For the entire time that she had known Naruto, Temari had always been wary of him, as could only be expected. But it wasn't until now that she felt her wariness was truly justified. A single word, especially when said by someone who was by all means a stranger, shouldn't have had such an effect. And yet, here she was, seemingly stuck in time as she waited patiently and attentively for his next words, just as she had often reacted to her father when he spoke sternly to her when she was younger. And while it did sicken her to know that she had found such a disturbing similarity between the man that she loathed and the young man that she had started to grow somewhat fond of, she refused to even try and abolish the thought from her mind.

Turning to face him slowly, she was met with something that surprised her. The calm and calculative coldness that was practically an eternal fixture in the background of his otherwise innocent blue eyes had disappeared, replaced with what Temari could only discern to be actual concern. The fact that he was concerned however, proved to be more terrifying than he seemed to comprehend.

"You need to be sure, Temari," he said, his cold tone opposing the concern she could see. "This isn't something to be rushed. If you need more time, take it. Because believe me, if this goes badly… it will be no better than throwing away your rights as a human and being forced to witness the worst sides of people you might not even have known existed. So please, for both our sakes, be certain that your decision is the one you're committed to."

Temari offered a meek nod, surprisingly managing to avoid being angry with herself for daring to be meek at all. Closing the door behind her, she left without any further words. As she walked through the village, she was met with the various smiles and pleasant greetings from the people of the village… and it sickened her to know that Gaara had not once been met with even a fraction of the kindness that she was given at every turn.

Her mind churned away at itself as she thought about what Naruto had said, about seeing the worst sides of people. It was a nice enough gesture to try and warn her, but it was also pointless. She had already seen the worst side of almost everyone in the village, the only difference being that their ire, their disgust and hatred, had not been directed at her. In a way, it was comforting to know just how cruel people could be, especially while at such a young age. It had helped her ignore many things in the past, such as her own brother's bloodlust, and would undoubtedly go on to help her ignore much more, most likely in the form of however the village reacted to her becoming a jinchuuriki.

All that was left for her now was deciding how to go about things once the transmission was all over. Would it be wise to hide her new condition from the people for a time, or would it be better to come clean from the start? Was it worth it to try and change the village's perspective on jinchuuriki through peaceful methods, or perhaps it would work out more efficient if done under the command of an iron fist. She knew that questioning the means to an end so early on was not the best of signs of a good plan, but she couldn't help but wonder what she was willing to do for the sake of an idea that many would label as impossible to realise.

Knowing that her decisions over the next couple of days could very well make or break the future of an entire village was humbling beyond anything else she could imagine. Even having been in the presence of the Sandaime Hokage, a man almost considered a god, didn't compare to having so much resting on her shoulders. But that also made it the more meaningful. Naruto could have easily just taken the Bijuu for his own purposes, sealing it into someone that he could control, to aid him in reaching his own goals at his side. Instead, he had given her the choice, the responsibility of dealing with the Bijuu in what way she saw fit.

Naruto had given her his trust on the matter, and Temari knew that the trust of a rogue shinobi was saying a lot, especially one wanted by practically half the world. It would take no more than a handful of words on her part to bring the wrath of numerous villages down upon the jinchuuriki's head, and so long as she kept up the ruse of wanting his help with the Ichibi, then she could keep him in place until the other villages dealt with him. His simply being in the village for so long was a display of trust that made no sense, let alone be deserved in any way.

It was just Naruto's luck that Temari was the type of person to make sure that such trust would not go unnoticed nor unrewarded. And it was with that particular mind frame that the blonde set off with a thoughtful expression, pondering as to just how she could make up for all that Naruto had dealt with while in Suna. It was just too bad that she didn't consider how hard such a task would turn out to be, as the forethought may have saved her from the headache.


Tayuya trudged through the sand irritably, the frown on her face slowly becoming a permanent fixture due to the exceedingly long time it had been there. Of course, she wouldn't care too much if the expression stuck as it would just make more people less likely to want anything to do with her. But that didn't mean that she wanted it to come about in this particular way, what with being forced to follow Temari to the mass funeral like some lost dog. What was worse was that the funeral was, as anyone could guess, out in the desert, and burning to death under the sun wasn't how Tayuya saw herself dying.

"Do you mind reminding me why the hell I'm here?" she asked through gritted teeth, internally screaming at the fact that she, according to Temari, would be better off not talking around anyone other than herself.

Temari sighed in frustration. "If I knew, then I would tell you," she answered. "Now please, do us both a favour and be quiet. We're almost there and I can't afford to have the people see me talking to you when my focus should be on the funeral."

"Ugh, and I thought you were annoying before. Now I'm starting to question if you've ever had any fun in your life," the redhead mumbled.

"People are dead, and yet you have the gall to talk about fun!" Temari hissed quietly.

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "Big deal. It happens all the time, it's part of our profession, we'll all have to face it one day. Pick of those and repeat it in your head until you stop feeling. It's what the smart shinobi do," she said in a bored tone.

"Is that what you did?" the blonde asked.

"No one's going to care if I die, and no one cared when I nearly did, so why put the energy into caring about the deaths of people I don't even know the names of. In fact, even the ones that I do know mean fuck all in the bigger picture of things, so why bother with them either," she said. "So no, I didn't have to chant myself into numbness. I was already blessed with the ability to not give a shit about people long before I needed to resort to such stupid measures."

Temari stopped walking, grabbing Tayuya by her arm to stop her as well. "If you're so sure no one cares about your life, then what do you think Naruto has been doing all this time?"

Tayuya frowned. "He doesn't care… at least not about my life," she said. "I'd call it preservation based on what he told me."

"And what was it that he said that could make you think that?"

"My body… that's what he's keeping alive for. Not me, just my body. And no, it's not for some secret perverted reasons, although that would be soooo much easier to explain," Tayuya explained vaguely. "After everything that Orochimaru did to me, I'm practically the closest thing to an Uzumaki except for Naruto himself. One of the only people alive who could potentially continue the clan naturally."

Temari gawked at the redhead. "You mean… he wants to… you know… with you… and make you have… seriously?" she sputtered.

Tayuya almost allowed the girl's stupefied expression to make her laugh, but thankfully, she made it come out as a growl instead. "No, he doesn't intend on doing that either… apparently," she said unsurely. "He said he just wants to make sure that I live long enough to have the option to have kids and continue the clan in some way, or some such bullshit. I was too busy watching the Hokage tower burn down to memorise what he said."

The blonde's expression quickly turned to one of curiously. "Why are you telling me this?"

Tayuya blinked owlishly. "Uh, because I'm bored and I don't really have much else to talk about. Unless you want to hear about all the ways Orochimaru experimented on me."

Ignoring the last comment, Temari started to walk again, gesturing for Tayuya to follow closely so as to continue the conversation. As much as she wanted to ignore the redhead, the topic was just too interesting, and there was still a small amount of time before the funeral started.

"So, in short, what you're trying to tell me is that that is all it took, him simply saying that he only sees value in your genetic similarities to his own clan, for you to completely disregard the possibility of him caring about your life?" she asked in an almost disappointed tone.

"Well it's not exactly something you just lie about," Tayuya retorted.

Temari nodded. "True. But he could always be withholding the whole truth."

Tayuya narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why am I getting the feeling that I'm not going to like what you're about to say?"

"Think about it. If you were to find someone who could continue your clan, then the first thing you would do is find a safe place for them to live. In regards to a shinobi clan, a shinobi village would be the perfect choice, so long as you could ensure that the clan would be accepted and that the individual in question wouldn't simply be used by the village to attain greater power," she explained. "Obviously, that wouldn't be easy, but with some of the favours Naruto is rumoured to have done for some of the smaller villages in the elemental nations, it isn't absurd to think that he would have a connection or two capable of making such an outcome possible. And yet, here you are. Still by his side, in possibly one of the most dangerous situations imaginable, and he doesn't seem at all determined to change that."

"Your point?"

Temari shook her head disappointedly. "He might not have told us exactly why we are stuck together for the day, but it doesn't take a genius to guess the reason," she said. "He is using this opportunity to safely remove the Ichibi from my brothers body, and aside from you and the ANBU, everyone else would have been outside the village walls. It only makes sense that he forced you to follow me to keep you out of the village, to keep you safe."

"Or maybe, and more likely, it was to keep me out of the way and make sure I couldn't interfere," Tayuya countered.

"View it however you like, but from where I'm sitting, it sure resembles a level of concern beyond what you assume," Temari said. "Now, if you don't mind, we've talked long enough. If Naruto is still alive once we get back, I would suggest that you at least try to talk to him about it."

Tayuya's head whipped around to stare angrily at the blonde. "What the hell do you mean 'if he's still alive'?"

Temari smirked victoriously. "Oh, so you do care about him," she teased, earning a sharp glare from the girl. "Calm down. I didn't mean it that seriously. But he is dealing with one of the nine Bijuu, and jinchuuriki or not, it still has a chance of killing him. But that shouldn't worry you. After all, what does his life really mean to you?"

Tayuya was quick to avert her gaze down to the ground, an intensely thoughtful expression on her face. Temari however, couldn't help but smirk at her accomplishment. Not only had she given the girl something to think about for the day, and hopefully keep her quiet in the process, but she had also quite possibly sparked what could very well become a highly amusing relationship should things go as she guessed they would. It was a shame that she wasn't going to get to enjoy watching the outcome of her meddling once the two left Suna, but she was sure that a few people would get some entertainment from it at some point.

As they finally reached the cemetery, Temari became emotionless. The reality of the day was finally catching up with her, and she couldn't help but feel anxious. Today was not just the day that the village mourned the recently deceased, at least not for the blonde. Today was the day that she farewelled whatever normality remained in her life, as once she returned to the village it would only be a matter of hours before she was to share her body with a monster.

What would happen after that was still a mystery, but that didn't matter to her. So much of her life had been a chain of events organised by those who saw her as useable for their own gain. While her father lived, most of what her life would entail could be calculated and easily guessed, if not outright anticipated with extreme accuracy. But now, she was officially without anything resembling the security of knowing what was to come, and it excited her.

To finally live the life of a true kunoichi. To not know how things would play out, but to be confident in knowing that she was now free to make the choices to come on her own.

And all it would take was to make one simple decision to change her life forever.


A/N:

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the super late update. Things happened, Final Fantasy XV was finally released, and I got around to buying the Witcher 3. So in short, I have very little self control, and a stupid amount of devotion to video games. Now that that's over though, I'm back, I hope.

Anyway, this long overdue chapter is finally here, and sadly not as good as I had hoped. But it is an update, and I just wanted to ensure everyone that I have no intentions of giving up on this story in the near future. Sadly, other than that, I have nothing else to say. In a way, I suppose it's kinda ironic that this chapter is where I'm officially starting the concept of Naruto and Tayuya caring about one another and its literally the day before valentines day, at least it is down here in the burning hell hole that Australia has become of recent weeks. So yeah, irony, or something.

Anywho, please don't forget to leave a review.

Next chapter will hopefully not take so long to be posted, but stuff can happen between then and now, hence no promises.

Till next time guys.

Soul out!